| John 8:12, NIV When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. |
| In the Scriptures, darkness represents a number of things, one of which is a state of being that is separate from God. Jesus declared Himself to be the light of the world, enabling us, once again, to share life with God. On a personal level, even as God’s children, we can still be dealing with darkness in many areas of our lives. Illness, marital breakdown, loneliness, depression, lack, etc – there are no guarantees of a trouble-free life, but Jesus is still the light even when circumstances say otherwise. Think about the purpose of light. Light is necessary to live. If the sun disappeared, the whole earth would die in about 8.2 minutes, according to one study. I can’t help but see how this fact correlates to our personal lives as well. When we are going through personal times of great darkness, we can still thrive even in the presence of that great darkness if we are allowing the light, which is according to Jesus, ‘the light of life’ into our circumstances. In our dark times, we have to resist the feeling to separate ourselves from God because maybe we feel abandoned by Him, but He is right with us. He never leaves or forsakes us. We often refer to Psalm 23 for comfort in times of distress and we remember that it says: ‘even though I walk in the darkest valley I will fear no evil for you are with me.’ And it is ‘in the presence of our enemies that He prepares a table for us.’ He expects us to sit and share life with Him even while the battle is raging around us. He hasn’t left us but invites us into deeper intimacy with Him during times of trouble. John 12:46, NIV I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. The plan of God is not for you to remain in darkness in any area of your life. God saw darkness at creation and said, ‘Let there be light.’ God saw darkness on the earth and He sent Jesus to bring God’s light to the earth. Never was there darkness and God did nothing. John 1:5, NIV The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. When you go through dark times with the light of Jesus and God’s truth and promises to sustain you, the darkness will not understand why it is unable to succeed in destroying you. Let us continue to allow His light in us to baffle the darkness. Remember His promises, spend time with Him. He’s your light and nothing can extinguish Him. |
| God bless, Gina PS. Merry Christmas to you all, thank you for taking the time each day to read our devotions. We love to hear what God is speaking to you through them, so please continue to get in touch with your testimonies and prayers. From our family to yours this Christmastime, be blessed and ever growing in your love for our King and Friend, Jesus our Emmanuel. |